The Madness of March has a tendency to often bring out the topic of sportsmanship with as much frequency as crocus and daffodils. Too often sportsmanship is discussed in light of its’ apparent absence, rather than its positive display. High schools around the country have been working hard to make that negative trend a thing of the past. The vision of a frenzied crowd that is supportive of the action and the athletes on the court is the target of many state high school initiatives like this one in New Hampshire.

March 2010

High School League Forms with Disabled Athletes

At a time when many schools are lamenting cutbacks in schedules to meet budget crunching requirements, there are others who are keeping their focus on the activity value of high school athletics and a "non-championship" prespective. This is also not a secondary attempt to simply provide disabled student-athletes a league of their own. In a joint effort with the Rhode Island chapter of Special Olympics, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League is offering a Unified Basketball League that will partner athletes with intellectual disabilities and other varsity athletes.